The Kenya Forest Service has distributed 2,000 seedlings to residents of Bomet County to plant in their homes as part of commemorating the International Day of Forests.
The exercise, held at Mulot girls secondary school, under the leadership of the County Forest Conservator Mr. Dennis Kerengo, saw the community sensitized on the importance of forest conservation by planting more trees to achieve 30 per cent tree cover by 2032.
“Protecting forests is one of the most effective ways to address the vagaries of climate change and conserve our environment. We should come together and walk in the journey of realizing 15 billion trees by 2032,” he said.
“Forests are crucial for the ecosystem and our daily survival, they regulate not only the climate, but also ensure fresh air,” he added.
On his part, the Bomet East Deputy County Commissioner Mr Joash Abongo affirmed to the members of the public the need to conserve forests for their environmental, social and economic value.
Abongo urged residents of the area to reserve portions of their land for artificial forests so as to boost the total tree cover in the County.
“We are here to commemorate a day that was set aside by the United Nations General Assembly through the efforts of the United Nations Forum on Forest and the Members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests,” he explained.
The International day of Forests is marked annually to raise awareness on the importance of all types of forests, trees and woodlands as invaluable resources.
The deputy county commissioner said the tree is symbol of life and presents the totality of the universe and so we should try to conserve the environment.
Meanwhile, Bomet County has in the past eight years raised its forest cover from about seven per cent to 18 per cent, under environmental conservation programmes by KFS.
By Lamech Willy
